Man accused in shooting death of Aamir Griffin on Queens basketball court turns down plea deal
NEW YORK -- The man accused in the shooting death of a teenager on a Queens basketball court turned down a plea deal Wednesday.
Fourteen-year-old Aamir Griffin was hit and killed by a stray bullet in 2019. The suspect will now stand trial.
More than four years later, Aamir's memories live on, but his mother still broken and still fighting for justice for her son.
"It's been four years since I last seen my son, and I tell you, it's a struggle for me every day," Shanequa Griffin said.
His mother tells CBS New York's Jennifer Bisram the pain never leaves, and now she will have to relive that fateful night.
"[A trial] means that I have to relive that night over, something that I really wasn't prepared to do, something that I don't want to do," she said.
Wednesday, Sean Brown, the alleged gang member who police say fired the shot that ended the young student and athlete's life, turned down a plea deal of 30 years in prison and instead will now head to trial.
"I honestly didn't want to hear him tell the story on how he shot my son, accidental or not. I'm not prepared to hear," Griffin said.
In 2021, the playground at Baisley Park Houses was repainted and revamped with artwork and pictures of young Aamir, who was a high school freshman practicing his jump-shot moments before he was shot.
While it's now a safe haven for kids in the community, Aamir's mother says a piece of her is gone.
"I just wanted to know what he would have turned into, what he could have been, where he was going, his dreams and all the things he had that he could no longer accomplish because someone shot him," Griffin said.
Brown now faces two trials in the shooting death of Aamir Griffin, and if convicted on all charges, could spend up to 40 years in prison. He's expected to stand trial in February.
